Can't describe clothing all too well so for those lost, they are dressed in old-school attire :)
Teito cursed out into the quiet night, vomiting every foul word his father would never let him use under any circumstance, but Teito found that in his current situation, this did not apply. He was lost, stupidly lost and he could only begin to explain how stupid he felt. He battled against greenery as he tried to forge his own path through the dense forest. His first idea after Mikage left was that he could try to climb up the way he came but that idea was quickly thrown aside.
Teito had found himself in the middle of nothing. In the middle of a clearing that wherever he turned, the same scene presented itself. He had turned in place too many times that soon he could no longer differentiate in which way Mikage had taken off to. His face was still red at the embarrassment he felt for so stupidly losing his way. Teito spat out another curse.
His stomach soon voiced its opinion after what felt like hours of wandering. The teen cradled his upset tummy, patting it gently. His only hope was to either find civilization, or a fruit bearing tree but everything around him seemed so foreign that he did not dare put anything in his mouth.
Maybe it was due to his starving stomach, or his late instincts of foraging through the streets had finally turned on, that the sweet smell of baking goods had drifted his way. His mouth watered in anticipation, his stomach growled to hurry its master. Teito closed his eyes and soon used his nose to follow the scent. It was a buttery smell, mixed in with the light tinge of lemon, cinnamon and other delicious assortments. How he could smell all of this as if it was right under his nose, he did not know but was glad for it.
As he broke through the undergrowth, a small dirt path winded through the trees and over a hill. No longer in control of himself, the teen ran the path, following it exactly rather than running straight. It curved in and out of the forest, around rocks and trees. If he stepped off the path, he would surly be lost; it was an odd thought but this place was odd.
With his body shaking from fatigue and hunger, Teito finally reached the cliff's top. As he gazed down into the clearing, he began to rethink his idea of going for food but if he even wanted to play with the idea of leaving this strange land, he needed his strength. So Teito walked down the path towards an uneven white picket fence that encircled nothing but a large dining table. Even from feet away, Teito noticed that the table was spilling with food. All assortments of chairs, different in sizes and colors and shapes, lined the outline of the table. Teito realized all the chairs were empty but two, the one at the far end, and the other to its right. The russet stopped at the gate's entrance, feeling foolish but knocked on the wood anyway.
"Yo, bunny, how bout spiking up this tea for me, eeeeeeeh?"
"Stop calling me bunny, idiot. Spike your own tea; I am not your maid."
"Well that was rude of you. Capella!"
"Y-yes, onii-sama?"
"Fillerup."
Teito leaned off to one side, feet firmly planted on the road. He craned his neck to look around a large, heart-shaped chair that might have been blocking him from view.
"Um, H-hello?" Teito voiced loud enough to be heard.
The figure at the end of the table leaned off to one side as well, catching sight of the russet teen. Startled to see a new figure within his grounds, the man took a larger sip than what he hand intended, burning his tongue in the process. He spat it out instantly, the remaining liquid in his cup spilled off to one side as he shifted too quickly in his chair, landing steaming on his lap. He cursed loudly, forcing himself to stand quickly before the liquid could burn all the way through his clothing, only to trip on himself and fall down with the chair. He twitched; his head had hit the ground instead of the softer chair, which he was now sprawled awkwardly over.
With a sigh, the other figure stood, walking calmly towards the gate entrance. He stood tall, proud, dressed in a white button-down shirt with a blue vest; a deep blue scarf draped over his broad shoulders. Dark blue slacks fit loosely on his lower body, belts of all assortments were placed freely on his hips. On his feet was a deeper blue set of shin-high strapped boots, where his slacks were stuffed. Glasses hid the true color of his eyes, though the teen could see it was some kind of brown. His rusty-brown hair was neat and clean, two rabbit ears, chocolate in color, emerged from the top of his head. The teen could not help but stare at the ears.
"Hello, young one. Welcome to the Mad Tea Party."
As soon as the man had said it, the one that fell soon jumped onto the table. As tall as he was, it took him no more than three strides to reach the two at the picket fence. He was built much thicker than the rusty-haired rabbit, face more menacing than anything the teen had seen before. His eyes were a deep sea blue, intimidating as well as intriguing. His sunshine blond hair was almost completely covered by a black top hat he wore on his head, a card reading: 6/7 was tucked neatly between three roses on its brim. He wore a neat black frock coat over a startling white shirt. On his neck, a black tie-scarf was laced around, tucking in gently under a gray vest he wore over the shirt; matching black breeches that were stuffed into knee high boots and white gloves finished his look.
"No room! There is no room for the brat!" The man barked.
"Who are you calling a brat?!" Teito yelled before he knew it.
The white gate stood between the two who seemed ready to fight it out. Teito had to strain his neck to look up to the blond but he did not dare back down now.
"Frau-chan," the hare began but was soon cut off by a menacing glare from the other.
"You," he accentuated the word, "are supposed to be the one shooing these damn critters away. The brat made me bleed!" With a flick of the arm, the blond soon held his top hat, revealing his soft blond hair to be smeared with dark, thick liquid near the back of his head.
With a chuckle, the rusty-haired hare turned to Teito. "Ignore him, young one; he's all bark and no bite. Actually, he's quite cuddly if you get him drunk enough."
"I'll show you cuddly, stupid bunny. Kid can't come in; we're already one over our brat limit."
They both turned to the small boy who could be seen scurrying behind the many chairs. He looked almost strikingly similar to the taller blond, only the child's face was kind and chubby. The small boy soon began to speak to an overly large tea kettle that sat in between the two men's chairs.
"You know, Frau-chan, your attitude is starting to become a serious problem."
"Will you stop calling me 'Frau-chan' already?!"
The two soon began to bicker; the hare tried to stretch himself to look taller than the other but was failing to succeed.
Teito's attention rapidly fled to the table, the smell drifting from it near intoxicating. He was surprised to see that the blond had not trampled over the baked goods. His eyes wandered towards the boy, he could faintly remember the taller blond name someone Capella, and perhaps that was the little boy. Teito watched as the boy continued to speak to the kettle, his head disappearing inside before coming out dripping wet, a smile on his face.
The gate before Teito slammed shut; his attention drew back to the situation before him. The rusty russet opened the gate only to have the blond slam it shut. They continued this, their eyes never straying from the glare they gave each other.
Teito's stomach growled; embarrassed by the sound, Teito coughed to cover it up, his sight finding a flower to stare at in hopes to distract himself from the new attention he captured.
"Ah, ha! Told you he wasn't military."
"He's probably fakin' it," the blond eyed suspiciously.
"You know they can't do that."
"Hm? Castor…"
Curious, Teito looked up to find both sets of eyes on him intently. He took a step back, feeling the need to run but the smell of food kept him pinned.
The blond reached over the gate, took a fist full of Teito's coat and, with his free hand, ripped off the ribbon that wrapped around Teito's neck.
The teen held onto the stronger man's wrist, his hands unable to wrap around it. Soon, the hand released him, causing Teito to stumble to the ground. Infuriated, Teito's green glare went up to the man, who looked down at him in shocked silence, the teen's ribbon in hand.
"Give that back!" Teito yelled as he remained seated on the ground, his back too sore to force himself up just yet.
"He's –."
"God, you are slow." The rusty haired rabbit threw open the gate, hitting the blond on his unprotected shin. "Young one, we have much to discuss."
- - -
Teito was lead to the seat across from the rusty russet, at the left of the fuming blond. His eyes gazed out to the pastries spread about him, all thought lost for a moment. There was chocolate cakes, milk cakes, ice cream cakes, cheesecakes, strawberry, blueberry, banana, any other kind of fruit imaginable. Pancakes, cupcakes, and even potcakes. (A/N: get it? Get it? Pan, cup, pot?? …I lol'ed)
"Please, eat."
A slice of chocolate cake was pushed toward Teito, a big juicy strawberry lay elegantly beside it, dipped with a bright red sauce. With tears welling in his eyes, the teen looked up to the glasses wearing stranger and thanked him. In no time at all, the cake was gone. Teito took the liberty of taking another piece as soon as it was offered.
"Have some tea to accompany your pastries."
"I don't like tea," Teito mumbled between chews.
"No wonder you're so short." Teito titled his head to glare at the blond, who finally spoke. "I've been drinking tea all my life and look at me!" The blond patted his chest proudly, knowing full well what he hid under the gentleman's coat.
"Yes," the bunny-eared man spoke into his cup of tea, "but I ask you to refrain from spiking your drink, or you'll end up with his brain too." Easily ignoring the glare from the blond, he continued, "So, what is your name?"
Teito turned back to the other, his fluffy brown ears capturing his attention once more. "I'm Teito, Teito Klein."
"Pleasure, Teito-kun," the hare pushed a cup of tea his way. "I am Castor March, also known as the March Hare. And this…" Castor signaled to the other.
"Frau, or Frau Hatter, or the Mad Hatter; whatever floats your boat. They really need to stop addressing me by so many names," he turned to his companion.
"It's amusing to watch you struggle," the March Hare spoke into his tea.
"You know what's more amusing?" The Hatter grinned, placing an elbow on the white cloth of the table, leaning towards the Hare. "When I tied your ears together."
Castor's eyes immediately darkened, his hand tightly gripped a butter knife he was planning on using as a weapon.
"Try that again," the rusty brunet spoke harshly, "and this time I'll make sure you never come back."
"Ouu, scary." Frau leaned off the table, deciding to relax into his chair instead. He sipped from his tea.
"Who are you people? Where am I?" Once Teito's stomach was full, his mind cleared, finally making him realize the situation he was in.
Both males turned to him, eyeing him carefully. Castor turned his eyes toward his companion, taking him by collar of his coat and tugged the larger body toward him. He whispered to Frau, who nodded in reply. The young boy Capella hid behind the large tea kettle, eyes darting between the two males.
"Um, Teito-kun," Castor began, "how exactly did you…get here?" The Hare leaned forward, placing both elbows on the table while he hid half of his face behind intertwined fingers.
"W-well," Teito's nervous emerald gaze shifted between the two males, landing briefly on Capella and quickly back to Castor. "I followed this pink…rabbit."
"Fyulong," Frau corrected.
"It looked like a rabbit," Teito protested, eyes shifted to the blond.
"The rabbit had wings, fyulong."
"Rabbit."
"Fyulong."
"Rabbit."
"I'm telling you, brat, fyulong."
"And I'm telling you–!"
"Teito-kun! Ignore him; please; just, just answer my question, yes?" Castor asked almost desperately, the sudden urge to stab Frau with the butter knife increasing.
"Well, I followed the pink…whatever it was into the shrubbery maze that was located on my father's estate."
"Who is your father?" Castor tilted his head off to the side.
"Um, he isn't really my father, my adoptive father actually…um, his name is Fea Kruez. He's the local doctor."
"Okay, so you followed the fyulong into the maze…?"
Teito reached out to the tea cup that was presented to him. He brought it to his lips, sniffed at it once, and then took a sip. It tasted like cinnamon. "Well, I followed the…fyulong into the maze and into this willow tree. It was hollow inside and when I stuck my head in, there was a boy inside. He pulled me in and next thing I knew, I woke up in the middle of nowhere. That boy, Mikage, he put this thing around my neck, which reminds me, I want my tie back." He turned to glare at Frau.
The blond grinned, lifting the ribbon up for the teen to see. The entire time since he took it, he couldn't stop playing with it. The material was silky; he liked the feel of it.
"Mikage…he's…"
Frau turned to Castor but not before stowing away the red ribbon into his coat pocket. "He's the King of Hearts' lackey."
"No he isn't." The Hare turned to the blond. "What makes you say that?"
"For one thing," The Hatter pointed at Teito, "the collar around his neck. He's in this now; anyone on the White Side would never forcefully put it on an outsider."
"But Mikage…"
"Maybe the brat was forced into it, only after the Red Side grew stronger did the kid start acting strange…er."
Teito watched the conversation bounce back and forth, slightly irritated at the fact that he was not being involved. He was the one with the thing around his neck. He was the one that shouldn't be here. He was the one that wanted to go home or at least wake up from the nightmare. He decided to take another cake and continued to drink from the tea cup that never seemed to dry up.
"Psst. Onii-chan?"
Startled, Teito looked beside him. The boy, Capella, looked up at him with sparkling blue eyes, filled with the things that made a child just that, a child. Wonder, amazement, curiosity and the need to explore. Teito smiled solemnly, his father would have loved a child like this, one that acted as such.
"You're Capella, right?"
The tiny blond nodded. "I wanna show you something, Onii-chan." He tiptoed around Frau's throne of a chair and towards the giant kettle, waving Teito to follow. Stealing the strawberry off a nearby cake, Teito left his seat and followed, noticing the two older men were still discussing something, obviously in their own world.
"What is it, Capella?"
The boy pointed into the kettle. Shrugging, Teito peered into the dark depths. No light seemed to penetrate the thick metal outline, making it difficult to see anything at all. He dipped his face in deeper, needing to stand on his toes for a better reach, then the water below him rippled. Before he could run, a pair of webbed hands reached out to him and cupped his face, his own face smiled back at him. He gave a surprised yelp, tripping as he tried to get away. As he rubbed his sore back, he looked up to see a new face looking down at him.
Gorgeous, glittering soft violet eyes seemed to smile as they watched the surprised teen. The creature's hair was long and a bright cherry color, which complimented her fair skin. What looked like soft blue-violet fur covered her torso; at every odd place, Teito could distinguish the appearance of scales on her seemingly human skin. Finally, two elongated fin-looking ears peeked out from under her hair, matching perfectly with her aquatic appearance.
"Oh my," Castor turned at the sudden yell, "it looks like you took the liberty of meeting my little Razette." The hare reached over and petted the young looking girl, who gave a supple sound in response, it sounded like the soft melody of a music box. "She is a Teacup Mermaid. Poor thing can't speak but she can certainly sing. I'm sure you've already seen what she is capable of, being able to change her appearance."
"Razette," Teito spoke quietly, eyes kept on the mermaid.
The girl sang lovingly in reply, reaching out a webbed hand toward Teito. The teen stood to his feet and placed his hand on the mermaids. She tugged him forward, placing a kiss on his cheek which immediately caused him to turn red.
"Ha, ha; now, now Razette, you do not want me to get jealous, do you?"
Razette smiled at Teito and released his hand. Soon she turned to Castor, leaned over the rim of the kettle, arms supporting her, and kissed the Hare on the cheek. As she did so, Teito noticed the fish-like tail of her lower half. It was the same soft lilac of her eyes, glittering red, green and blue in sunlight. Teito blinked, eyes turned toward the sky. The sun shown over the horizon, gaining altitude slowly. Had he stayed awake the entire night?
"Get a room, you two," Frau huffed as he pulled out a cigarette from deep within his inner coat pockets.
"Teito-kun, I'm sorry about ignoring you before but now we definitely have something that needs discussing."
Teito turned to Castor and nodded, finding his way back to his chair. His sight fled to Razette and Capella, who sucked happily on sweets Castor had presented them.
"If you want some, just ask Castor," Frau muttered. A spark came from his gloved hand and soon his cigarette was lit.
"I'm too old for sweets," Teito immediately replied, though the licked-clean plates about him told differently. Red in the face, Teito pushed the plates aside.
Frau gave a hearty chuckle, letting out a grey cloud of smoke. Teito watched in amazement as the outlines of tiny birds emerged from the smoke, disappearing as the wind blew them away.
"Teito-kun," Castor caught the teens attention and presented him with a lollipop. After many refusals, the teen finally gave in, earning a smirk from Frau; Castor continued. "I wish this wasn't so, but it seems you have been forced into a game, here, in Wonderland."
"A game?" His dreams were certainly turning into something elaborate.
"Yes, a game that hasn't been won in ages."
"And…I have to play?"
"Yes, the collar bound on your neck requires it to be so. You can't refuse it."
"How do…I play the game?"
"There are 7 beings known as the 07-Ghosts. You must locate each of these 7 beings and they will give you, if they deem you worthy, an item that is to be used to 'win the game'. Four will award you an Ace from the Deck – Ace of Hearts, Ace of Spades, Ace of Clovers, and Ace of Diamonds. Another will present to you the Key of Truth; one more will present to you the Stone of Power and the last Ghost will award you the map which leads to the Crypt of the Clock. Once all these are collected, you must fight one last battle with the Clock Keeper, Verloren. If you win, young Teito Klein can return to his time and home."
"And if I lose?"
A shadow passed over Castor's eyes, his glasses accentuating the transition. "…Best not to think of it."
"How can I find these…'07-Ghosts'?" Teito shifted uncomfortably in his seat; this was too elaborate to be thought up by himself. Did he really fall down the willow tree and end up in…Wonderland?
"You never find them, they find you. They know you are here, young one, they were informed of your presence as soon as the collar was placed upon your neck. Some will present themselves to you; give you a task before handing over their possession. Others will wait so you can prove yourself in battle, to prove the color of your heart."
"But how can I prove myself to them if I don't know who they are to begin with?" Fear began to creep its way into Teito's consciousness.
"You will find, Teito-kun, that the Card Soldiers, better known as Kor, are attracted to you. They are cold beasts that feed off the souls of anyone and anything. Their sole mission is to make sure the outsider looses. Stay in one place too long, and they will appear. You can only hope that when you must fight, one of the Ghosts is nearby. Do not judge on outward appearance, young one, anyone, anything can be one of the 07-Ghosts…such as myself." Castor March pulled a thin silver prism from deep within his coat. He held out his hand towards Teito, who looked, almost in awe, at the glittering piece.
Hesitantly, Teito took the card into his hand, the symbol of Spade engraved black into the thin material. It felt light in his hands, though a heavy burden on his chest. He pulled out a handkerchief from his coat, wrapping his new found prize within before stowing it away in a secure pocket inside his frock.
"Thank you, March-san."
"Please, call me Castor. I have helped you begin; Frau Hatter will assist you in the rest of your journey."
"I'll what?" Frau turned, startled, to Castor.
"You will help Teito, Frau-chan. After all, it is your role." The two glared daggers at each other, though Castor appeared calmer than Frau.
"Damn wild rabbit." Frau broke the stare, turning to take a deep breath from his cigarette, now than ever needing his nicotine fix.
"Go to the Mushroom Forest." The Hare turned to Teito.
"Will I find a Ghost there?" The feel of the cold rectangle in his pocket made everything real to him. He really needed to play this game in order to go home.
There was a mischievous glint in the Hare's dark eyes, a small smile tugging on his lips. "Possibly."
"But…won't you join us, Castor-san?" Teito held tightly to the lollipop he momentarily placed on the table.
"I'm sorry, Teito-kun, it is not my role. And besides, Razette cannot travel on land for long, she needs me…" He turned sympathetically towards both Razette and Teito.
"Of course," Teito found his voice after some time.
"I'll leave Capella with you then, March." Frau blew out another cloud of smoke; this time, fishes emerged from the cloud.
"Certainly. Please, do not forget to write."
Frau pushed his chair back, stretching his sore muscles as he stood. With a roll of his neck, bones cracked in place. He turned his stare towards the small teen at his left.
"Well? Let's move."
"N-now?" Teito looked from Frau to Castor. "B-but there's still a lot of stuff I do not understand! Like how anything works in this place! I…I still think I might just be dreaming all of this."
"Maybe you are," Castor began.
"Or maybe you're not. Never take chances when your life is on the line, kid. And we need to leave now; it's easier to travel by day. I'm sure the Red King knows about you by now, I'll explain all I can on our way to the Mushroom Forest."
"So we're just leaving? Like that?"
"That's how we do things in Wonderland, kid. Don't worry," a superior smirk crossed the Hatter's hard features, "I'll protect you."
:)